Homestead Crater, also known as Midway Crater, seems nearly too sweet to be real. Just 45 minutes outside of Salt Lake City, you can slip into a 94-degree geothermal pool, sheltered from the elements by a limestone beehive with a skylight.
But wait, there’s more: You can also get SCUBA certified there!
After discovering Homestead Crater on Instagram, we knew we had to make it part of our ski trip to Salt Lake City. It was a short drive from our Home Exchange house, and had a reasonable price tag ($15 for adults, $12 for ages 7 and under, a little more on weekends). So with five kids in tow (ages 8 to 15), off we went to swim in a crater!
What it’s like to visit Homestead Crater/Midway Crater
In most ways, swimming in this warm water spring lived up to expectations. It was visually interesting (although dimly lit). The warm water felt nice. The process of getting in and out of the cave, and in and out of the water, was not too difficult. The only way that Homestead Crater might not 100% live up to its dreamy portrayal on Reels? Well, there’s not that much to do or see there. You get in the water. You float around. You look up at the cave above you. That’s it.
I definitely recommend visiting Homestead Crater once or twice. But it’s not something I’d do again and again.
Start with an online reservation
You’re allowed to enter the crater only at a reserved time, for 40 minutes only. To make your reservation, go to the website and click “Book Now.” This will take you to an availability calendar that shows how many spots are left in each 30-minute timeslot of every day. Some slots allow 20 people at once, some 10, and some only 8.
Once you choose your timeslot, enter your name and select either “swim” or “snorkel.” The snorkel equipment costs $8 extra, or you can bring your own for no charge. I’ll share later why I don’t recommend the snorkel package.
You can reserve for a whole group at once, up to the number of spots available at that time. So if you have a group of 20, pick a session with 20 spots available. You can then pay for all 20 at once.
You can reserve up to six months in advance, but you don’t need to. When I checked on a recent Friday, plenty of spots remained for the coming week.
Arriving at Homestead Crater
Before you drive to the Homestead Resort for your float, you may choose to put your bathing suit on under your clothing. Changing stalls are available inside the cave. The staff gives you changing time between entering the cave and your swim time. However, I was anxious not to miss a moment of my 30 minutes in the hot spring, so I dressed out in advance. In summer, of course, you could just show up in your bathing suit.
You should also bring your own towel. Bring snorkel equipment if you want. You can’t bring floatation devices, a paddleboard, or really anything else.
If you’re expecting Homestead Crater to be a wilderness experience, you will be surprised when you roll up. This natural phenomenon, not far from I80, is located on a suburban-looking resort property. There is plenty of parking.
For our February visit, we arrived well before our scheduled entry time. So we walking around the shoveled paths, looking at the snow-covered grounds.
One important thing to note: There are no bathrooms inside the cave. After all, it’s just a cave. So make sure to use the bathroom before your scheduled entry time. We went to a little lounge/game room that was part of the resort. There’s also a very cute coffee shop on the Homestead Resort property, the Milk House.
Entering the Homestead Crater building
In winter, the cave over the crater looks like a big pile of snow from the outside. In summer, it looks like a rocky hill with bushes growing on the sides. A deep cut in the snow led to a closed door, with a sign reading: “DO NOT enter the Crater until your EXACT SWIM or DIVE TIME!” We were impressed by the vehement tone and felt that this must be a place of meticulously enforced rules. The sign also promised that someone would come outside to get us when it was our turn to enter.
Inside the little door, the entry hall is tight. Besides the changing stalls, there’s a counter where you sign in and pick up any equipment you rented. You are required to put on a life jacket — after all, the crater is 65 feet deep. Then, you step through a short passageway cut into the stone, and you’re in the “pool room.”
The inside of the cavern is dimly light by electric lighting. The water is a deep teal color backed by darkness emanating from the water’s depth. The walls are, of course, limestone, with a pattern of horizontal ridges that makes you feel as if you are inside a potter’s creation. On the ceiling, there’s a hole that lets in some sunlight. A wooden deck surrounds parts of the spring.
Swimming in Homestead Crater
There are no lifeguards inside the grotto. You jump in when you’re ready, or sit on the deck and slip in, or even crawl in on a pool ladder. The water feels great! At 94 degrees, it’s not as hot as your typical hot tub. The perfect temperature for paddling around or floating lazily.
There were SCUBA divers far, far below us, apparent only by their lights and by the big round floats on the surface. I guess their tethers were attached to those, so they can pull up when ready. It was easy to avoid the SCUBA floats while swimming around.
And that’s it, really. When I first saw that they allow only 30 minutes per reservation, I worried that we’d be rushed. But in reality, 30 minutes is perfect. You float around, you look up at the sky through the hole in the ceiling, you check out the grotto’s walls, and look down at the SCUBA divers. You lay back and enjoy the feeling of the warm water. By the time 30 minutes is up, you’re probably ready to leave.
Is the snorkel package worth it?
I brought my own snorkel mask, so I put it on and took a look under the water. Not much to see except for everyone’s partially submerged bodies, like dumplings in soup. I skirted the edges of the spring, looking at the limestone walls, but they looked pretty much the same underwater as they did above water. So after a circuit around, I took off my snorkel mask and left it on the deck.
Leaving the crater
This is only part of the experience that’s not very enjoyable. Twenty people are allowed to swim at once, but there are only a few changing stalls. While some people skipped the changing stall upon entering, most everyone needs to use them to leave. It takes longer to get out of a wet suit and dry off. Meanwhile, the rest of us crowded into the hallway, feeling uncomortably damp and getting chilly, waiting our turn.
And of course, you have to leave the building before the next group comes in. So you need to dry off and change fast. Bring a really absorbent towel and maybe some absorbent sweats to change into.
Should you visit Homestead Crater in summer or winter?
Since the water in the crater is always 94 degrees, it feels especially pleasant to jump in during winter. Natural outdoor swimming opportunities are otherwise pretty scarce in frigid Utah winters. So I’m glad we visited in February.
On the other hand, it would be more convenient to visit in summer. You could show up wearing just a bathing suit and swim coverup, and leave the same way. Skipping the limited changing rooms woudl be a real boon. The inside of the cave is probably around the same temperature year round, so it’s not as if the water would feel uncomfortably warm in summer. But I dont’ think it would feel quite as special.